Colorado Springs
by Rinny47
Summary: Interesting encounters abound when the Sanctuary team follows Nikola Telsa to his old stomping grounds in Colorado Springs. Pure silliness, oneshot.


Disclaimer 1: I own no rights to any of the charactes, etc.

Disclaimer 2: I threw timelines to the wind on this one. I guess it's set sometime in Season 7 SG-1 and early Season 2 Sanctuary, but I really didn't consider that so... meh.

* * *

><p>There were few things in life that Dr. Helen Magnus didn't expect. She'd spent her entire adult life, all 130+ years of it, "expecting the unexpected." Surprisingly, waking up on a spaceship took her completely off guard.<p>

The little grey man in the room with her blinked.

She seemed to be frozen in place, about a metre and a half off the ground. She could just barely move her neck to get the little man into her central vision.

The little grey man cocked his head to the side, blinked again, and walked over to a control panel just on the edge of her frame of view, where he started to move rocks around.

_Move rocks around?_ she thought to herself.

And then suddenly she began to rotate. _A bit like a rotisserie chicken, _she mused, and then, _oh, how morbid!_

Waking up in her own bed, in her own home and with no external signs of harm, she decided to pass it all off as a particularly vivid dream. Vampires, werewolves, basilisks, mermaids, unicorns, sure. Extraterrestrials… no.

'Hey, Doc?' came Henry's voice of the intercom, 'you up yet?' She never could quite figure out when her tech tsar slept. He'd once explained that he only slept when all systems were functioning normally and would continue to do so uninterrupted for at least three hours. As far as she could reckon, that happened precisely never.

'Good morning, Henry,' she replied brightly. Despite the bizarre dream of the night before, it was looking to be a fine day. The sun was up, the sky was blue, and –

'Cool, Doc,' he interrupted her thoughts, 'Cos, uhhh, there's someone here to see you. … PUT THAT DOWN!' he shouted, presumably to someone else in his lab.

'Who?' she asked.

'Hello, Helen, wouldn't want to interrupt your sleep,' came Tesla's half-mocking voice from the other side of Henry's lab.

She sighed, 'Thanks, Henry. I'll meet him in my office.'

So much for the bright, sunny day. Finding something suitably dark and Victorian, she dressed and headed to her office to question the old scientist's motives behind this little visit.

* * *

><p>That same morning, at almost exactly the same time, Colonel Samantha Carter woke up in her base quarters with a splitting headache. She'd been working late into the night with Dr. Lee on some phase technology and had only reluctantly gone to sleep on the orders of her C.O. Though just what General O'Neill had been doing up in the small hours of the morning, he wouldn't say.<p>

'Go to sleep, Carter. Now. That's an order,' and he'd pointed off down the hallway in the complete opposite direction of her quarters, but she got the idea.

'Yes, Sir,' she'd grudged, and had gone to her quarters with the attitude of a delinquent teenager and promptly fell asleep in her uniform, boots and all, on top of the sheets.

Still bleary eyed, she wandered in the mess to find Jack happily eating cereal and less happily reviewing a mountain of personnel reports.

'Good morning,' he chimed in on seeing her, clearly overjoyed to have something to do other than pretend to read personnel reports.

'Hi, Sir,' she said, taking the seat across from him. He kindly and unceremoniously plunked the papers on the floor to make room for her tray.

She stared at him quizzically. 'Sir?'

'Yes, Carter?'

'Froot Loops?'

'Breakfast of champions,' he said with a mouthful.

'I never thought I'd see the day,' she grinned.

'Neither did I, Carter, neither did I.'

'Whooaaa! Froot Loops!' Daniel burst as he bounced into the room, chipper as could possibly be.

'Alert the presses,' teased Jack, sharing a smile with Sam. 'Pull up a chair, Danny-boy. How's … life?'

'Life is good, thanks. Though,' started Daniel with a hesitant pause, 'we have word from the Asgard High Council that some of their more, umm, rebellious elements have gone missing.'

'Gone missing?' asked Sam.

'We think it means the High Council has lost track of some rogue elements but are phrasing it so as not to lose all face.'

'Rogue elements?' asked Jack.

'Uhh, yeah, you know… Loki and his cronies,' Daniel finally said. He and Sam looked at the General.

'Fantastic,' grumbled Jack, dropping his spoon into the cereal. 'Remind me never to eat Froot Loops ever again.' With that he got up and left abruptly.

'Yeah, that's about how I thought he'd take it,' commented Daniel.

'What exactly happened?'

'Well, they don't seem to know and they're kind of embarrassed about it,' started Daniel, but Carter's skeptical look caused him to rethink his phrasing. 'I mean to say, they thin that, somehow, they've dropped out of our space-time. Or something.' He took a huge mouthful of waffle.

'So, he's what, out of phase with our dimension?' asked Sam very excitedly.

'You'd have to talk to Thor, it was all a bit over my head,' confessed Daniel through a mouthful of hash browns.

'Is he here? Now?' asked Sam, giddy with delight. This could do wonders for the work she and Dr. Lee were so stalled on. It was going to be a good day.

'Nooo…' said Daniel in his characteristic way, 'but he left you a recording.'

He was hiding something, she could tell. He was shockingly easy to read.

'Daniel,' she said sternly.

'Since it's phase stuff, the Air Force and Pentagon and all thought that maybe another brain would help speed things along for your research with Dr. Lee.'

'Great.' _Another scientist to spoil the solution._ She glared at him in stubborn disbelief.

'Yeah…. And, Lord only knows why, he was already in town, so he should be here – '

'Samantha!' came an irritating voice from the doorway behind her.

'McKay?' she whispered, 'Why?'

Daniel nodded in sympathy.

'Ravishing as always, Doctor,' he smiled broadly and went in for a peck on the cheek.

Daniel, in an attempt to provide Sam time to prepare her escape, replied, 'Why thank you, you look… well.' Sam snorted into her orange juice.

'No, no… I, no… I didn't mean you…,' bumbled McKay.

Daniel's ploy gave Sam just enough time to pick up her o.j., and, holding it menacingly in front of her like a citrus shield, slink out of the room, leaving McKay still sanding with his hands in the air in a mid-sentence gesture.

So much for the good day.

* * *

><p>'What?' he asked with all the innocence of a thief just caught red-handed, 'a friend can't just come by to say hello?' He talked with a bottle of her own wine in hand. It was a 1952 claret. He proceeded to open it.<p>

'Why don't you just help yourself to my wine cellar…' she trailed off, annoyed.

'Thank you, how very kind, and might I add,' Nikola winked (Henry rolled his eyes loudly), 'you look as ravishing as always.' He proceeded to pour.

'Nikola,' she demanded, arms folded, leaning against her desk as he sat comfortably in an arm chair and Henry slouched in the doorway.

'Yes, Dear,' smirked the sharply dressed vampire.

'Why are you here?' She tried again.

'Funny you should ask,' he began.

'Actually, no. It's really not,' put in Henry.

'Oh hush,' snapped Nikola, 'this doesn't concern you.'

'Yes, I'm pretty sure it does. And I'm also pretty sure you stole some stuff from my bench before I showed up in my lab this morning and found you going through my things,' accused Henry.

'Me!' said Nikola with airs of false offense. 'That's not very nice, Tiny Tim.'

'Oh man, Vlad,' Henry stepped forward angrily.

'BOYS!' shouted Helen. Both men backed off and growled their respective growls.

'Nikola, turn out your pockets,' she commanded.

'What am I? Seven…'

He steadfastly refused.

'.Now.'

'Yes, Teacher,' he grinned something awful and began turning out his suit pockets.

As trinkets nicked from the lab revealed themselves, he placed tem gently in Helen's outstretched hands or on the coffee table.

'There,' he said finally, 'happy now.'

'Nope, not really,' said Henry.

With an easy glance, Helen indicated to Henry that he should leave. Leaving his gadgets in her care, he did so.

She relaxed a bit and sat down on her desk, taking a sip of the wine that Nikola had poured moments ago.

'You're welcome,' he said with cool warmth.

'Wouldn't want it all to be wasted on you,' she replied without missing a beat. 'So what is it now?' she asked.

His eyes lit up with child-like enthusiasm. She had to give him credit, he never lost his fantastical sense of wonder.

'Well,' he began, taking a veritable gulp of the claret, 'I was paying a little visit to my old stomping grounds – '

'Which ones?' she interrupted.

' – in Colorado Springs,' he continued. 'There's some very funny stuff going on in that Cheyenne Mountain these days.'

'Oh?' she asked.

'Well, your silly Air Force refused to tell me.'

'You actually asked?'

'Well of course, scientific inquiry and all that. But they said it was classified or some such nonsense. In any event, I happen to be rather attune to electric fields and something under that mountain is using an awful lot of power.'

'And you want to know what it is, so you've come to me because I have friends and resources you'd like to borrow?'

'That is exactly,' he paused for effect, 'wrong. Honestly, Helen, you're fortunate I'm immortal. All these wounds to my pride and I'd be a dead man.' He stopped and looked at the wine with uncertainty.

She raised an eyebrow at him, 'Not your best.'

'No,' he agreed.

'What actually intrigued me was a rather annoying little man I met on the Air Force Academy grounds. He was talking and gesticulating to himself quite loudly about phase shifts. I offered my services and he was so kind as to produce the equations he was dealing with.' From a pocket heretofore unknown to Helen, he produced a piece of paper with the equations in question scribbled on it and Nikola's notes written shockingly neatly on top of them.

She rolled her eyes while he smiled.

'Unfortunately, he stopped talking before I could get too much out of him. I guess he suddenly realised that it was all classified information and that he didn't actually know who I was.'

'And you want to work out this phase technology business so you've come to me because I have friends and resources you'd like to borrow?'

'Damn right I do!' He took a deep drink. 'It's been far too long since I've added another patent to my name and this phase technology could be my biggest achievement since radio.'

'You didn't technically invent radio Nikola.' He opened his mouth to protest, but she was too quick, 'And it's hard to patent things when you're dead.'

'Well I might as well have invented radio. The point is,' he ignored the issue of his death completely, 'I'm sure as hell not going to let some balding scientist with appalling social skills get the credit for something so, …. so, … damn cool.'

Taken somewhat aback by his lack of eloquence , she shook her head and sighed. A child-like wonder and madman's delusions of grandeur.

* * *

><p>Dr. McKay's presence in the lab put Dr. Lee in the rather uncomfortable position of having to act as a buffer between McKay' horrific advances and Col. Carter's constant refusals. But on the bright side, Dr. Lee reflected, McKay wasn't about to let him actually do anything constructive towards furthering the project, so at least he had something to do.<p>

But still, it had been five days of this and he was closer to losing his mind than he'd ever been before.

Carter was at a desk reviewing the new information from the Asgard High Council.

'Anything good in there?' asked McKay from right behind her. She could feel him breathing on her neck as he talk. She shuddered and turned to face him, having to lean back over the desk in order to increase the space between them.

'I don't know yet. Maybe if you stopped interrupting me.'

'You look so sexy when you're angry.'

'Oh, God,' she said and turned back around, praying that he didn't prod her in the back or something.

Dr. Lee, getting rather good at his new role, called McKay over for something completely trivial. Carter turned around and gave him a very grateful look.

The Asgard had been able to follow Loki's ship's trajectory for a great distance until it dropped out of phase and it appeared that the ship was headed for Earth. The little grey man did have an affinity for the place and it wasn't all that surprising seeing that he'd been to Earth quite recently and might still have unfinished business. At least that was what they surmised.

They also provided the "dumbed down" version of their phase research for Carter to peruse and attempt to get anything useful from. It was nice of them to provide it, but the simplified version was of remarkably little use. Especially considering they seemed to be taking an all together different approach to the whole business of phasing.

'Oh,' she said suddenly, sending McKay and Dr. Lee running over.

'What is it?' asked Dr. Lee.

'Well, look here,' she pointed to the computer screen that she'd set up to interface with the stones. 'I think this portion is a derivation of the one that we've been working with. I'm not sure what they're using as a stability constant, but if we apply this to our matrix…' she trailed off into something that had both the other doctors scrambling for paper and chalk.

Soon enough McKay had the solution on their chalk board and the three sat puzzling at the elegant simplicity of the solution.

'Ah, the power of matrices,' sighed McKay, temporarily forgetting to fawn over Carter and fawning over maths instead.

Sam was simply annoyed that she hadn't reached the solution first.

'Well that's great,' said Dr. Lee, 'but now we have to apply it.'

'Oh, well any semi-sentient ape would be able to do that,' said McKay, grabbing a tablet and setting to work.

Daniel, Jack and Teal'c walked in.

'Sir?' asked Sam, 'Did you see the sign?'

'Oh, this one?' asked Jack, producing the caution sign she'd posted on the door. He shrugged.

'Don't you have a planet to be shooting up?' asked McKay without turning around or something.

'No,' answered Jack. And then to Sam, 'has he been bothering you? I'd be happy to shoot him for you.'

'Thanks, Sir,' she chuckled, 'it's fine.' Dr. Lee was shaking his head in an emphatic NO motion from the other side of the room.

'Perhaps Dr. McKay would like a demonstration the new boxing technique I have been practicing,' Teal'c suggested.

Turning around and looking genuinely scared, McKay declined the offer.

'Really, Sir, don't you have a mission to be on.'

'We were there and back before you could say "Get me the hell out of this monsoon"'

'Yeah, it was really wet.'

'Indeed.'

'Ah,' said Sam, happy she hadn't missed out on the fun.

'And according to SG-13 this is the dry season,' added Daniel. 'It's a wonder a culture could even evolve in such an environment, but I guess there is precedence.'

Before he could launch into a historical digression, Teal'c said, looking concerned, 'Dr. Lee, should this device be making such a sound?'

'Oh, thanks Teal'c.'

Sam went over to have a look too. Their phase device which was whirring in a manner that could either be really bad, or really good. She was about to touch it when…

'No, no, no! Don't touch that? What are you doing,' scolded McKay. He was about to swat her hand away when he caught the look on her face, backed up by the looks of Jack, Daniel and Teal'c, and stopped.

'Have you seen my notes?' asked McKay.

'Which notes?' asked Sam.

McKay suddenly looked horrified.

'What did you do, McKay,' asked Sam.

'I think I left them in a park. Oh my god.'

'And it took you how many DAYS to realise this?' boomed Jack.

'What was on them?' asked Daniel.

'Oh, nothing important, just probably the key to getting the device to work, that's all.' He was starting to perspire.

'You left them in a park?' asked Jack.

'I was looking for a change of scenery,' pleaded McKay, 'so I went for a walk on the Academy grounds. A passerby, probably professor or something, stopped to chat and offered assistance. Brilliant man… and that's the last place I saw them.'

'Great,' said Jack. 'Daniel, Teal'c, why don't you and I go trace the not-so-good doctor's steps with him. And Carter, you need a break, you come too.'

'Sir, I really don't think it's necessary for all of SG-1 to go. It's just McKay.' She pointed to him, sulking in the corner.

'I know Carter, but with the mission cut short, the three of us are supposed to be on leave so we might as well actually _leave_ the base, and you need a break. C'mon! It'll be fun. Bring back your old Academy days and what not.'

Carter sighed. This was silly, but he was her C.O. and rules were rules, 'Okay, Sir.'

He clapped her on the shoulder, 'Alright! 14:00 hours then.'

This was not exactly how they'd planned to spend their free time. And so, at 14:00 hours, they dragged the mightily embarrassed Dr. McKay to the park.

* * *

><p>Nikola smiled as he looked over the notes with another glass of red and wondered how long it would take their owner to realise they were missing. He didn't think if it so much as theft as a temporary loan. He'd put them right back where he "found" them on that park bench. Eventually.<p>

* * *

><p>Days passed and Nikola grew increasingly annoyed. From what he'd deduced from the equations and his own brain power, there was an element required to make the phase technology work, and he had no idea what it was. It would have to be something metallic, incredibly dense and able to absorb high amounts of energy. He'd run simulations with every known element and a large number of alloys and yet nothing quite seemed to work. The failures were catastrophic.<p>

'Do you ever eat?' asked Will, who'd stopped by the lab to say hello to Henry.

'Not if I can help it,' answered Nikola, 'what would be the point?'

'Sleep?'

'Only for fun.'

'I see…'

'You wouldn't happen to know,' started Nikola, rounding on Will. Will was, afterall, Helen's second in command, perhaps he'd know about or have access to some database heretofore unknown to Nikola, 'if Helen has any, uhhh, records anywhere that she might not have linked to the main computer system.'

Henry smirked. 'If she doesn't have them linked to the main computer system, it's for good reason,' answered Will.

'Yeah, I thought as much. Confound it! This doesn't make sense.'

'What,' asked Henry.

'Nothing that your small brain could wrap itself around.'

'Try me.'

Nikola went on to explain in great detail, so as to certainly confuse Henry, just what the nature of the problem was. 'I hate you,' was the only reply he got.

'Well, then, in this case, I'm leaving.'

'Great!' said Will. 'I'll show you the door.'

'I know where the door is, thank you.'

He bundled up the equipment he'd been working with and then he just… left.

'Dude, do you think he left left, or just left the lab left?' asked Henry.

'I don't know… I think he left left,' said Will, brow scrunched in thought.

'I'll track him on the security cams.'

They watched him as he walked to the elevator, got in, rode upstairs, and left. Right out the front door.

'Maybe we should tell Magnus…'

'Yeah…'

* * *

><p>'What do you mean he just left?' asked Helen, 'he's not one for just leaving.'<p>

'Yeah, we thought maybe he was leaving the lab or something, but no, he is outta here.'

Helen didn't like this at all. It wasn't like Nikola to leave without fanfare, or at least without saying goodbye to her and making a pass as well. She decided that he must not want her to know where he'd gone. She listened as Henry and Will explained the bizarrely brief farewell in the lab and the circumstances thereof.

'Colorado Springs,' said Helen, thinking out loud.

'Nice place,' said Will, 'they have a cog train.'

Helen laughed and Henry looked confused.

'Your brain is a weird place, man.'

'Well they do!' defended Will. 'And the Air Force Academy and NORAD and some really nice rock formations.'

'Garden of the Gods,' said Helen.

'Right, that… What about Colorado Springs?'

'That's where he picked up the notes. And he also mentioned that there was something happening inside Cheyenne Mountain that was drawing large amounts of energy. So, if as you say he is looking for an element that can absorb energy, that might be where he's headed.'

'Excellent,' said Henry, 'field trip?'

'I do believe so, you two are with me. We'll fly out at 08:00 tomorrow morning.'

* * *

><p>They arrived in Colorado Springs the next day all ready to track down the obnoxious vampire and hoping that he hadn't already managed to get himself into a good deal of trouble.<p>

They walked to the Air Force Academy and started to wander the grounds. Cadets were everywhere and there was a general hustle and bustle that was quite refreshing. Not to mention the splendour of the grounds.

'We'll cover more ground if we split up, radio in if you find anything,' suggested Helen.

'Sounds good,' said Henry.

'I'll go that way.' Will pointed off to the left.

And with that they went their separate ways.

* * *

><p>SG-1 and Dr. McKay made it to the Academy in mid afternoon, completely unprepared for what awaited them there.<p>

'I was sitting over here,' said McKay, gesturing to the bench where he'd been so many days ago. 'It's not like the notes are still going to be there.'

'No,' said Jack, 'but it's as good a place to start as any. We look around, don't find them, and then go and make the proper inquiries. And then I might shoot you for idiocy.'

McKay rolled his eyes.

'Aren't you suppose to be smart?' asked Daniel, 'Can't you just reproduce them?'

'I wrote them down so I wouldn't _have_ to reproduce them! I'm sure you can't name every citation you used in your last paper?'

Daniel, annoyed, shut up.

'Okay kids, Teal'c and Daniel, you go that way,' he pointed, 'we'll go this way,' he pointed in the other direction.

* * *

><p>Nikola wasn't quite sure why he'd come back to the Academy. Perhaps it was in the vain hope that he'd run into that odd little man again and be able to get some more out of him. With the right encouragement he found he was usually quite able to extract the information he wanted. Nothing like a little electroshock therapy to get someone talking.<p>

He was sitting on a bench in another part of the grounds when, much to his overwhelming dismay, he heard Will shouting for him.

'Damn it, Helen,' he said under his breath, preparing to turn and leave. He had with him a large canvas bag with his equipment inside. He didn't want to just leave it in the hotel. Helen wouldn't be pleased if Henry came whining to her that Nikola had lost some of his stuff, so the bag went where he went.

Gathering it, he turned and left, but was overtaken by Will who'd broken into a jog.

'Found ya.'

'So I've noticed.'

'What's in the bag?'

'Nothing of consequence. Why did you follow me? Can't you just leave a man in peace?'

'Not when he takes off so suddenly and with the technology do to Lord knows what, no.'

'And I supposed you're going to radio Helen and let her know you've found me.'

'I think I will,' and so he did.

'Good work, Will,' was Magnus's reply. 'That was astonishingly easy. Nikola, I'm surprised with you.'

'So am I,' admitted Nikola not quite loudly enough for the radio to pick up and transmit. He never should have invented the damn things.

'That's the man!' Will and Nikola heard a voice exclaim from around the corner.

They turned to see who it was.

'You know him?' asked Will.

Nikola smiled, 'just the man I was looking for. Now what are the odds of that?'

McKay approached ahead of Sam and Jack and looked about ready to punch the living daylights out of Nikola.

'Hello again,' replied the vampire with sincere delight.

'Give me my notes back.'

'Ask nicely.'

'No, I'm not going to ask nicely. GIVE THEM HERE! NOW!'

Sam and Jack picked up the pace somewhat.

'Well, well, a very familiar face,' said Nikola, not smiling, when he caught sight of Carter.

'Uhhh, hi, sorry about him,' she apologised.

'He doesn't have any manners,' continued Jack.

'No, apparently not,' agreed Nikola.

'Are you okay,' Carter asked Will. He looked quite pale.

'Yeah, I'm fine. It's just…. you look like someone I,…, we…, know.'

'That's nice,' said Jack, 'listen, you wouldn't know anything about some missing notes.'

'Will,' came Helen's voice over the radio, 'Where did you say you were?'

'There's a large…tree…' he said, still very rattled by the existence of Carter. She looked so shockingly like Magnus, just a little younger, blonder and American.

'There are a lot of trees!' Henry said into the radio.

'Can't you lock on or something? Track me?' asked Will.

'Oh… uhh, yeah, I 'spose I could… be there in a sec,' answered Henry.

Jack, Sam, McKay and Nikola just sort of stared.

'Jack,' Jack introduced himself, 'what's in the bag?'

'Nikola Tesla,' started Nikola. Sam snorted trying to stifle a giggle and McKay scoffed.

'You look good for someone who's been dead for over sixty years,' said McKay with spiteful sarcasm.

'Thank you,' said Nikola returning the sarcasm. He then proceeded to go and open the bag.

Jack and Sam drew weapons immediately.

'Well prepared,' noted Nikola, 'and much less trigger happy than the Marines. They shot me a few months back. I hate being shot.'

'Tesla…' cautioned Will.

'Oh please, I'm immortal remember?' He continued to move things around, looking for something.

'Ah,' he said, fetching McKay's notes from the bottom of the bag.

'Happy now, McKay?' asked Jack.

'No.'

'I was hoping you might be able to tell me more about this super heavy metal you suppose to use in these equations.'

Sam and McKay look stunned.

'What do you know?' asked Sam.

Nikola smiled, 'ah, well, I think you'll probably have to escort me to your base and interrogate me. Perhaps confiscate my equipment as well and – '

'Will! Nikola!' shouted Helen, approaching with Henry who she'd met along the way. They came upon the scene from behind the SGC crowd, Will's eyes couldn't help darting between Sam and Helen.

'Whoa,' said Jack, turning around, weapon drawn, to face the newcomers. He looked at Carter very amused.

'I don't know what to say, Sir…'

'A relative perhaps?'

'I should think not, though the resemblance is… striking,' answered Helen.

'Cool,' said Henry.

While they were pondering the bizarre situation, Nikola grabbed McKay's arm and shot a burst of electricity through him. That should get some attention.

Soon enough he, Will, Henry and Helen were being handcuffed and lead to a van. McKay had come to soon enough and they'd been joined by a very large man with a very bold tattoo and a very generic brown haired man with spectacles.

'Everything is going accordingly,' said Nikola when shortly after they started to drive. The imposing man in the back with them and acting as their guard raised an eyebrow.

'How is this possibly going to plan?' she asked.

'You'll see.'

Henry and Will shook their heads.

* * *

><p>'Sir, I honestly don't think the three of them know anything,' said Sam to Jack upon leaving the interrogation room. They'd been at it for hours. The woman and two younger men were perfectly congenial and seemed as confused about the whole thing as the SG team. She was tempted to have them sign a non disclosure agreement and leave. It was the fourth man, the one who'd stolen the notes, that she was worried about.<p>

'From those notes, Sir, he was able to get in five days as far as we did in five months. He's incredibly intelligent.'

'Don't tell me you want to borrow him for a while,' said Jack. 'You'll never get it past the General.'

'There has to be some sort of way to negotiate with him. He seems… reasonable…'

'He seems nuts! He electrocuted McKay! Not that that's particularly nuts… actually that makes a lot of sense… Carter, point is, he can zat someone without a zat.'

'But that's another part of it, Sir!' she exclaimed, 'if we could figure out what he is, who knows what it could do for… for medicine and science…'

'Carter, he is a human being ya know, not a lab rat.'

'Is he?' she asked.

That caught Jack a little off guard. 'What are you suggesting?'

'That I go have a more friendly chat with his comrades,' she answered.

'Go ahead. And take Daniel with you.'

'Yes, Sir.'

Meeting Daniel in the hallway, they walked to the holding room where the Sanctuary team, sans Nikola were being held.

'Are we free to go?' asked Helen when they entered.

'Uhhh,' said Daniel.

'And that would be a no then,' sighed Henry. 'Can we at least have… books? Something to do?'

'We want to talk to you about your… associate,' said Carter. 'He was able to send quite an electrical shock into McKay and, frankly, we have no idea how just anyone could do that.'

'Oh, if he could only hear you refer to him as "just anyone"' rambled Will.

'Who is he?' Carter decided to take the direct approach.

'He is who he says he his,' answered Magnus.

'He says he's Nikola Telsa,' answered Daniel, 'which would make him well over 100 years old and well and truly dead.'

Unlike her Air Force counterparts, Helen felt no obligation for secrecy. The Sanctuary wasn't classified and she had a feeling she could trust these people. She hoped it wasn't just because she, literally, saw a lot of herself in Carter, but rather that they came across as honest, and very concerned. And she liked to be helpful.

'Yeah, not exactly,' said Henry.

'Oh?' asked Daniel and Sam in unison.

'You should run some blood work and a DNA analysis,' suggested Magnus.

'We are,' said Sam, 'should have the results shortly.'

'He is human… he was… he's of a subspecies known as _Sanguine vampiris_.'

Daniel smirked, 'A vampire? Even if that's true, the last vampires were said to have been made sterile centuries ago.'

'Yes,' said Helen, 'from the most powerful race on earth, from pharaohs and gods, down to nothing.' There was something wistful and longing in her voice.

Carter and Daniel showed a knowing glance. Not quite pharaohs and gods…

'It's a long story,' said Will, 'but yes, vampire. And electric… I mean, he _is_ Nikola Tesla afterall.'

'Supposing this is all true, which a rather large supposition, what does he want with McKay?' Daniel inquired.

'He wants to know what heavy element the phase technology is based around; to get a sample of it; and to use the phase device for nothing good.'

'Just how did he figure that out?' asked Sam.

'Unfortunately,' said Will, 'his genius is as large as his ego.'

The door opened and shut behind them.

'Flattering,' said Nikola, his voice deep from his vampire transformation, 'most people wouldn't admit that.'

Daniel and Sam whipped blindingly fast and pulled zats. Daniel fired.

'Ah, energy weapons' continued Nikola, tapping his long nails on his chin, 'fascinating but totally useless.' He checked himself and shook off the transformation. 'But really,' he continued normally, 'I _hate_ being shot.'

* * *

><p>'Sir, we got the results back from the lab,' said Dr. Janet Fraser in the briefing room. 'He's definitely…abnormal.'<p>

'How so?' asked General Hammond.

'Well, Sir, his DNA has traces of… well, his DNA isn't 100% human. It's only a slight variation, but as we've seem that slight variation has some important implications.'

'And what do you suggest we do with him?' Hammond asked.

'Well, Sir, if it is like he claims, and he can't be killed, I suggest we keep him here at least for the time being. If he doesn't pose a treat…. well, Sir, we can't justify keeping him locked away forever.'

'But he did have knowledge of what we're doing here,' said the General.

'Actually, Sir,' explained Carter, 'he didn't. He had some notes from McKay and was able to work it out for himself. He got even further than we did in his calculations.'

'Carter wants to use him for his… brain, General,' said Jack.

'Sir, I think he could help, under close supervision of course.'

* * *

><p>And after much negotiation and planning Nikola found himself in Carter's lab, with McKay, someone even shorter and balder than McKay named Lee, and a lot of very armed guards. The rest of SG1 and the rest of the Sanctuary team watched from the observation area.<p>

'Honestly, they're really unnecessary,' said Nikola again referring the guards.

'Oh, I don't think so,' said McKay, rubbing his arm as though he could still feel the residual pain from the shock.

'Oh, please, that was nothing.'

'It hurt!'

'Actually, McKay, that was less than 1/8th the force of a zat,' said Carter, not meaning to stick up for the "vampire" genius prisoner. Just anything to shut up McKay.

'Ah! Ah!' exclaimed Nikola, fiddling with equipment, 'There we go! Just need to flip that switch there and – '

Nothing happened. At least, they didn't think anything happened.

'And what?' asked McKay, skeptical.

'And everything within a 15metre radius is not quite in the same dimension as everything without that 15metre diameter.' Nikola's smugness was shocking. But somewhat deserved.

'I don't feel out of phase,' commented Dr. Lee rather inanely.

'No, you wouldn't _feel_ out of phase,' snided McKay. Tesla really did not like the little man even though he was correct.

Nikola took one step forward and stood inside the computer.

'Cool,' said Jack, failing to grab the mic and passing his hand right through it. 'Oh.'

'Okay so wait,' he asked his fellows observing, 'how come we don't fall through the floor?'

'I've always wondered about that,' said Will.

'Some of the larger, more permanent fixtures are the same in both dimensions, the closer the dimensions run,' explained Henry. 'It's like when you're setting up a holo interface and – ' Helen cut him off. Jack and Daniel looked confused.

'Some things are the same in both dimensions,' said Helen simply.

'Ah, I see.'

Suddenly and without warning (as sudden things usually are) the little grey man that Helen had seen some nights ago appeared in the lab. She tried to hide her concern.

'Well, I think we've found Loki!' said Jack.

'Who?'

* * *

><p>Nikola and Dr. Lee both gasped and backed away when Loki beamed in. Carter and McKay looked amused.<p>

'Fascinating,' said Nikola.

'Loki?' asked Carter.

'Hello,' said they alien.

'And it speaks English,' wondered Nikola.

'Yes, it does,' answered Loki. 'You are not like them. I have studied your kind in the past. Superior brainpower, but it tends to lead to tragic insanity and delusions of grandeur,' he said matter of factly.

'I'd hardly call them delusions,' counted Nikola.

'You have successfully shifted phase,' said Loki to Carter, 'I'm suitably impressed.'

'Uhhhh, thanks,' she said uncertainly.

'Actually, that was me,' butt in McKay, eager to take as much responsibility for the success as possible. Nikola looked amused.

While Loki and McKay set about to talking, Carter set about getting as much information about the properties of this dimension as possibly onto a stone in order to transmit it to Thor later.

'I see we are being survailed,' commented Loki, happening to glance up to the observation area.

Jack and Daniel waved. Teal'c nodded hello. Helen looked confused. Will and Henry grinned widely in "oh-this-is-so-cool" happiness.

Loki looked back and forth between Sam and Helen. And again. 'It is unwise for a clone to meet their progenitor,' he said off handedly.

'Sorry,' asked Sam.

'It was experimentation with adult to embryonic cloning in the sixties and seventies. We were reprimanded of course, the High Council did not think it was proper to conduct such experiments without the consent of those involved.'

Jack waived his arms about so as to ask, 'What's he going on about?'

'So you're saying we clones of the same, uhhh, embryo?' asked Carter. This was making her very uncomfortable. She kept glancing up at Helen awkwardly.

'No,' said Loki flatly, 'we took cells from an adult, in this case the one you see there,' he pointed, 'and used them to create and embryo that would develop to look the same as the original. I checked up on you both only a few nights ago.'

'But they're practically the same age,' Dr. Lee pointed out.

'Oh,' said Nikola, 'oh, I really don't think so.'

'I should be going now,' said Loki. 'I will have to confiscate your device and notes, of course.'

And as suddenly as he appeared, he was gone and with him the entire contents of the lab, save the humans and vampire.

'Damn it!' said Nikola.

'At least it will all be in base the hard drive,' said Carter, still holding the stone in her hand.

'Hello?' asked Jack, able to grab the mic again.

'Sir, briefing room?'

* * *

><p>They, along with Dr. Fraser and General Hammond, crowded into the briefing room.<p>

'You're telling me wiped it all from the system? How could he have known?'

'Sir, we think he had someone in his ship targeting the computer while he stalled for time.'

Henry squirmed. He desperately wanted to take a look at their drive, but they wouldn't let him.

'But you can still send information about his whereabouts to the High Council?'

'Yes, Sir, I was holding on to the stone with the information when he de-phased us and beamed out. Apparently being in contact with it saved it from being removed as well.'

'Well then, I suggest you send him a message.'

'Yes, Sir.'

'General,' asked Daniel, 'what are we going to do about…' He gestured to Magnus's team.

The General turned to look at the closed blast doors. For all the Sanctuary team knew, it was phase technology that they worked on here. Nothing of the gate at all had been mentioned and the only hint of extraterrestrial contact was Loki saying hello. But that could all be chalked up to alternate dimensions and realities.

'We can make our own way back, thanks' said Helen.

'You'll have to sign some paperwork,' put in Jack.

'Of course, we'd be more than happy to.'

* * *

><p>As they were getting ready to leave, Sam pulled Helen aside and explained what Loki had said in the lab.<p>

'Intriguing,' said Helen, 'Well it certainly does explain a lot.'

'Yeah…,' said Carter. 'Listen, I don't know what you do, but it seems about as off the grid as what we do here. If you should ever come across anyone who sounds South African and whose eyes glow and voice changes a bit, and who seems sort of evil… please let us know.'

'Looking for someone?' asked Helen, her curiosity piqued.

'And _that_ would be classified,' said Jack from around the corner. Sam smiled.

'We've arranged and escort to take you back to your transport.'

'Thank you,' said Helen graciously. 'And you'll be releasing Nikola into our custody when we reach the aircraft?' she asked again.

'Yes, he's all yours' said Sam.

'In fact,' suggested Jack, 'why not take McKay too.'

'Eager to get him out of here?' she asked.

'Well,' Jack shuffled his feet a bit.

'Unfortunately one Nikola Tesla is about all we can handle right now.'

'Is he really Nikola Tesla… _the _Nikola Tesla?' asked Sam.

'Indeed,' said Helen.

They made their farewells and were soon enough back at their aircraft with Nikola who was complaining about the handcuffs.

'No,' said Helen, 'I think they'll stay on for a while.'

'You'd like that, wouldn't you?' he teased.

* * *

><p>Alone in his own lab, away from the Sanctuary and prying eyes, Nikola finally unwrapped the bundle he'd concealed about his person several weeks ago in the Cheyenne Mountain complex.<p>

'Naquadah,' he said, tossing the metal sample into the air. 'I think we are going to become fast friends.'


End file.
